The spokeswoman said the man was extremely lucky that neighbours
had noticed the fire and called for help, as he did not have a
smoke alarm fitted.

The flat was severely damaged by fire and smoke and the man has
found alternative accommodation, she said.

Firefighters are also inspecting the damage
caused by a fire at a Melbourne factory today.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman Trevor Woodward said crews
were called to the fire in Trade Park Drive, Tullamarine, in
Melbourne's west, about 11.30am (AEDT).

By noon the fire was under control and confined to a computer
room on the factory's second floor, he said.

Mr Woodward said information on the type of factory and the
extent of the damage was not yet available.

Overnight, a search for a man who went
missing while canyoning in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, is
being hampered by bad weather.

''The rain is very heavy and it is making the conditions very
treacherous for the searchers,'' police said.

''We will be continuing to assess the weather and whether it is
safe to stay out there. We have to put the safety of the searchers
first.''

The 32-year-old Sydney man was canyoning with six others at
Empress Falls, near Wentworth Falls, late yesterday.

He became separated from the group in rising waters after a
storm.

Police Rescue and local officers searched the area until
nightfall but were hindered by heavy fog and failing light, and no
trace of the missing man was found.

Four men and two women, aged in their 20s and 30s, were escorted
out of the canyon last night.

''There are in a fine condition although they are probably very
upset,'' the spokeswomen said.

One of the women was taken to Nepean Hospital suffering a
shoulder injury.

Police said the search for the man resumed after 7am (AEDT)
today.

Police divers and rescue officers are again involved in the
search.

And about 20 people were evacuated from a
Sydney backpacker hostel after fire engulfed the building this
morning.

An automatic fire alarm was set off about 7.35am (AEDT) and fire
crews found two rooms well alight in the three-storey building at
Darling Street, in inner-western Rozelle, a fire brigade spokesman
said.

Some of the hostel guests were forced to stand on the footpath
wrapped in sheets while an early-morning storm lashed the city as
crews battled the blaze.

It was not known exactly how many people were evacuated from the
building, the spokesman said.

Darling Street was closed to traffic as crews fought the
fire.

Elsewhere, a baby boy has been sexually
assaulted at Brisbane's Southbank Beach.

The 12-month-old boy and his mother were at the beach
about
5.20pm (AEST) yesterday when a man allegedly approached the child,
picked him up and sexually assaulted him, police said.

They said the mother yelled at the man and confronted him before
he put the baby down and ran off.

Police said the attacker was wearing a pale yellow shirt and was
described at being of Asian appearance.

In a later attack, a female ice cream van driver was robbed
after four or five men in two cars forced her off the road at
suburban Eagleby and onto a dirt track about 6.30pm (AEST).

One of the men dragged the woman out of the van and punched her
in the stomach several times, while a second man stole money from
the van, police said.